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Climate Change
Overview on Climate Change
 Since the release in February 2007 of the fourth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , which clearly demonstrated the link between human activity and global warming, the climate change debate has moved to the top of the political agenda. In mid April, the Security Council considered the issue of climate change for the first time. While the UK Foreign Minister asserted that the threat from climate change has grown and its impact goes far beyond the environment "to the very heart of the security agenda", developing country leaders protested that the Security Council was not the proper forum for this issue, which they considered belonged in the General Assembly.
On 2 May 2007, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced the appointment of three Special Envoys on Climate Change: Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Prime Minister of Norway; Han Seung-soo, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea; and Ricardo Lagos Escobar, former President of Chile. The envoys will be working with governments at the highest level to explore the level of interest in the UN convening a climate change summit in the context of the General Assembly this year.
Indicative of the difficulty of finding consensus on climate change, this year's session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-15) from 1-12 May 2007 failed to reach agreement on the adoption of a proposed resolution. Instead it ended with a "Chairman's Summary" - to read the document, click here >>
The theme of this year's World Environment Day on 5 June 2007 - Melting Ice: A Hot Topic? - highlighted the impact that climate change is having in all regions, not just at the poles. In his statement on this occasion, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that the, world needs "new thinking and a new inclusiveness" to tackle the perils of climate change, and called for urgent global action that takes into account the needs of the world's least affluent countries.
On 24 September 2007, a high-level meeting on climate change took place. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has declared climate change as a central focus of the UN. Officials from 150 countries and 71 Heads of State and Government were present, eager to build momentum for the UN Climate Change Conference that will take place in Bali from 3-14 December 2007.
WFUNA INFORMATION PACKET ON CLIMATE CHANGE
All the information you need to start learning more about climate change background, UN mechanisms and outcomes, and more!
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Implications for Governance arising from Climate Change (Robert J. Berg) click here>>
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